By late accounts from Rotterdam that city seems to be in a high state of philosophical excitement. Indeed phenomena
have there occurred of a nature so completely unexpected, so entirely novel, so utterly at variance with pre-conceived opinions, as to
leave no doubt on my mind that long ere this all Europe is in an uproar, all physics in a ferment, all Dynamics and Astronomy together
by the ears.

It appears that on the —— day of ——, (I am not positive about the date) a vast crowd of people,
for purposes not specifically mentioned, were assembled in the great square of the Exchange in the well-conditioned city of Rotterdam.
The day was warm — unusually so for the season — there was hardly a breath of air stirring, and the multitude were in no bad
humor at being now and then besprinkled with [column 2:] friendly showers of momentary duration. These occasionally fell from
large white masses of cloud which chequered in a fitful manner the blue vault of the firmament. Nevertheless about noon a slight but
remarkable agitation became apparent in the assembly; the clattering of ten thousand tongues succeeded; and in an instant afterwards ten
thousand faces were upturned towards the heavens, ten thousand pipes descended simultaneously from the corners of ten thousand mouths,
and a shout which could be compared to nothing but the roaring of Niagara resounded long, loud, and furiously, through all the environs
of Rotterdam.

The origin of this hubbub soon became sufficiently evident. From behind the huge bulk of one of those sharply-defined
masses of cloud already mentioned, was seen slowly to emerge into an open area of blue space, a queer, heterogeneous, but apparently
solid body or substance, so oddly shaped, so whimsically put together, as not to be in any manner comprehended, and never to be
sufficiently admired by the host of sturdy burghers who stood open-mouthed below. What could it be? In the name of all the vrows and
devils in Rotterdam, what could it possibly portend? No one knew — no one could imagine — no one, not even the burgomaster
Mynheer Superbus Von Underduk, had the slightest clue by which to unravel the mystery; so, as nothing more reasonable could be done,
every one to a man replaced his pipe carefully in the left corner of his mouth, and, cocking up his right eye towards the phenomenon,
puffed, paused, waddled about, and grunted significantly — then waddled back, grunted, paused, and finally — puffed again.

In the meantime, however, lower and still lower towards the goodly city, came the object of so much curiosity, and the
cause of so much smoke. In a very few minutes it arrived near enough to be accurately discerned. It appeared to be — yes! it
was undoubtedly a species of balloon; but surely no such balloon had ever been seen in Rotterdam before. For who, let me
ask, ever heard of a balloon entirely manufactured of dirty newspapers? No man in Holland certainly — yet here under the very
noses of the people, or rather, so to speak, at some distance above their noses, was the identical thing in question, and
composed, I have it on the best authority, of the precise material which no one had ever known to be used for a similar purpose. It was
an egregious insult to the good sense of the burghers of Rotterdam. As to the shape of the phenomenon it was even still more
reprehensible, being little or nothing better than a huge foolscap turned upside down. And this similitude was by no means lessened,
when, upon nearer inspection, there was perceived a large tassel depending from its apex, and around the upper rim or base of the cone a
circle of little instruments, resembling sheep-bells, which kept up a continual tinkling to the tune of Betty Martin. But still worse.
Suspended by blue ribbands to the end of this fantastic machine, there hung by way of car an enormous drab beaver hat, with a brim
superlatively broad, and a hemispherical crown with a black band and a silver buckle. It is, however, somewhat remarkable, that many
citizens of Rotterdam swore to having seen the same hat repeatedly before; and indeed the whole assembly seemed to regard it with [page 566:] eyes of familiarity, while the vrow Grettel Phaall, upon sight of it,
uttered an exclamation of joyful surprise, and declared it to be the identical hat of her good man himself. Now this was a circumstance
the more to be observed, as Phaall, with three companions, had actually disappeared from Rotterdam about five years before, in a very
sudden and unaccountable manner, and up to the date of this narrative all attempts had failed of obtaining any intelligence concerning
them whatsoever. To be sure, some bones which were thought to be human, and mixed up with a quantity of odd-looking rubbish, had been
lately discovered in a retired situation to the east of Rotterdam; and some people went so far as to imagine that in this spot a foul
murder had been committed, and that the sufferers were in all probability Hans Phaall and his associates. But to return.

The balloon, for such no doubt it was, had now descended to within a hundred feet of the earth, allowing the crowd
below a sufficiently distinct view of the person of its occupant. This was in truth a very droll little somebody. He could not have been
more than two feet in height — but this altitude, little as it was, would have been enough to destroy his equilibrium, and tilt
him over the edge of his tiny car, but for the intervention of a circular rim reaching as high as the breast, and rigged on to the cords
of the balloon. The body of the little man was more than proportionally broad, giving to his entire figure a rotundity highly absurd.
His feet, of course, could not be seen at all, although a horny substance of suspicious nature was occasionally protruded through a rent
in the bottom of the car, or, to speak more properly, in the top of the hat. His hands were enormously large. His hair was extremely
gray, and collected into a cue behind. His nose was prodigiously long, crooked and inflammatory — his eyes full, brilliant, and
acute — his chin and cheeks, although wrinkled with age, were broad, puffy, and double — but of ears of any kind or
character, there was not a semblance to be discovered upon any portion of his head. This odd little gentleman was dressed in a loose
surtout of sky-blue satin, with tight breeches to match, fastened with silver buckles at the knees. His vest was of some bright yellow
material; a white taffety cap was set jauntily on one side of his head; and, to complete his equipment, a blood[[-]]red silk
handkerchief enveloped his throat, and fell down, in a dainty manner, upon his bosom in a fantastic bow-knot of super-eminent
dimensions.

Having descended, as I said before, to about one hundred feet from the surface of the earth, the little old gentleman
was suddenly seized with a fit of trepidation, and appeared altogether disinclined to make any nearer approach to terra firma.
Throwing out, therefore, a quantity of sand from a canvass bag, which he lifted with great difficulty, he became stationary in an
instant. He then proceeded, in a hurried and agitated manner, to extract from a side pocket of his surtout a large morocco pocket-book.
This he poised suspiciously in his hand — then eyed it with an air of extreme surprise, and was evidently astonished at its
weight. He at length opened it, and, drawing therefrom a huge letter sealed with red sealing-wax, and tied carefully with red tape, let
it fall precisely at the feet of the burgomaster Superbus Von Underduk. His Excellency stooped to take it up. But the aeronaut, still
greatly [column 2:] discomposed, and having apparently no farther business to detain him in Rotterdam, began at this moment to
make busy preparations for departure; and, it being necessary to discharge a portion of ballast to enable him to re-ascend, the half
dozen bags of sand which he threw out, one after another, without taking the trouble to empty their contents, tumbled every one of them,
most unfortunately, upon the back of the burgomaster, and rolled him over and over no less than one[[-]]and[[-]]twenty times, in the
face of every man in Rotterdam. It is not to be supposed, however, that the great Underduk suffered this impertinence on the part of the
little old man to pass off with impunity. It is said, on the contrary, that, during the period of each and every one of his
one[[-]]and[[-]]twenty circumvolutions, he emitted no less than one[[-]]and[[-]]twenty distinct and furious whiffs from his pipe, to
which he held fast the whole time with all his might, and to which he intends holding fast until the day of his death.

In the meantime the balloon arose like a lark, and, soaring far away above the city, at length drifted quietly behind a
cloud similar to that from which it had so oddly emerged, and was thus lost forever to the wondering eyes of the good citizens of
Rotterdam. All attention was now directed to the letter, whose descent and the consequences attending thereupon had proved so fatally
subversive of both person and personal dignity, to his Excellency the illustrious burgomaster Mynheer Superbus Von Underduk. That
functionary, however, had not failed, during his circumgyratory movement, to bestow a thought upon the important object of securing the
packet in question, which was seen, upon inspection, to have fallen into the most proper hands, being actually directed to himself and
Professor Rub-a-dub, in their official capacities of President and Vice-President of the Rotterdam College of Astronomy. It was
accordingly opened by those dignitaries upon the spot, and found to contain the following extraordinary and indeed very serious
communication.

To their Excellencies Von Underduk and Rub-a-dub, President and Vice-President of the States’ College of
Astronomers in the city of Rotterdam.

Your Excellencies may perhaps be able to remember an humble artizan by name Hans Phaall, and by occupation a mender of
bellows, who, with three others, disappeared from Rotterdam, about five years ago, in a manner which must have been considered by all
parties at once sudden, and extremely unaccountable. If, however, it so please your Excellencies, I, the writer of this communication,
am the identical Hans Phaall himself. It is well known to most of my fellow citizens, that for the period of forty years, I continued to
occupy the little square brick building at the head of the alley called Sauerkraut, and in which I resided at the time of my
disappearance. My ancestors have also resided therein time out of mind, they, as well as myself, steadily following the respectable and
indeed lucrative profession of mending of bellows. For, to speak the truth, until of late years that the heads of all the people have
been set agog with the troubles and politics, no better business than my own could an honest citizen of Rotterdam either desire or
deserve. Credit was good, employment was never wanting, and on all hands there was no lack of either money or good will. But, as I was
saying, we soon began to feel the terrible effects [page 567:] of liberty, and long
speeches, and radicalism, and all that sort of thing. People who were formerly the very best customers in the world had now not a moment
of time to think of us at all. They had, so they said, as much as they could do to read about the revolutions, and keep up with the
march of intellect, and the spirit of the age. If a fire wanted fanning it could readily be fanned with a newspaper; and, as the
government grew weaker, I have no doubt that leather and iron acquired durability in proportion, for in a very short time there was not
a pair of bellows in all Rotterdam that ever stood in need of a stitch or required the assistance of a hammer. This was a state of
things not to be endured. I soon grew as poor as a rat, and, having a wife and children to provide for, my burdens at length became
intolerable, and I spent hour after hour in reflecting upon the speediest and most convenient method of putting an end to my life. Duns,
in the meantime, left me little leisure for contemplation. My house was literally besieged from morning till night, so that I began to
rave, and foam, and fret like a caged tiger against the bars of his enclosure. There were three fellows in particular, who worried me
beyond endurance, keeping watch continually about my door, and threatening me with the utmost severity of the law. Upon these three I
internally vowed the bitterest revenge, if ever I should be so happy as to get them within my clutches, and I believe nothing in the
world but the pleasure of this anticipation prevented me from putting my plan of suicide into immediate execution, by blowing my brains
out with a blunderbuss. I thought it best, however, to dissemble my wrath, and to treat them with promises and fair words, until, by
some good turn of fate, an opportunity of vengeance should be afforded me.

One day, having given my creditors the slip, and feeling more than usually dejected, I continued for a long time to
wander about the most obscure streets without any object whatever, until at length I chanced to stumble against the corner of a
bookseller’s stall. Seeing a chair close at hand, for the use of customers, I threw myself doggedly into it, and hardly knowing
why, opened the pages of the first volume which came within my reach. It proved to be a small pamphlet treatise on Speculative
Astronomy, written either by Professor Encke of Berlin, or by a Frenchman of somewhat similar name. I had some little tincture of
information on matters of this nature, and soon became more and more absorbed in the contents of the book, reading it actually through
twice before I awoke, as it were, to a recollection of what was passing around me. By this time it began to grow dark, and I directed my
steps towards home. But the treatise had made an indelible impression on my mind, and as I sauntered along the dusky streets, I revolved
carefully over in my memory the wild and sometimes unintelligible reasonings of the writer. There were some particular passages which
affected my imagination in a powerful and extraordinary manner. The longer I meditated upon these, the more intense grew the interest
which had been excited within me. The limited nature of my education in general, and more especially my ignorance on subjects connected
with Natural Philosophy, so far from rendering me diffident of my own ability to comprehend what I had read, or inducing me to mistrust
the many vague notions [column 2:] which had arisen in consequence, merely served as a farther stimulus to imagination; and I was
vain enough, or perhaps reasonable enough, to doubt whether those crude ideas which, arising in ill-regulated minds, have all the
appearance, may not often in effect possess also the force — the reality — and other inherent properties of instinct or
intuition; and whether, to proceed a step farther, profundity itself might not, in matters of a purely speculative nature, be detected
as a legitimate source of falsity and error. In other words, I believed, and still do believe, that truth is frequently, of its own
essence, superficial, and that, in many cases, the depth lies more in the abysses where we seek her, than in the actual situations
wherein she may be found. Nature herself seemed to afford me corroboration of these ideas. In the contemplation of the heavenly bodies
it struck me very forcibly that I could not distinguish a star with nearly as much precision, when I gazed upon it with earnest, direct
and undeviating attention, as when I suffered my eye only to glance in its vicinity alone. I was not, of course, at that time aware that
this apparent paradox was occasioned by the centre of the visual area being less susceptible of feeble impressions of light than the
exterior portions of the retina. This knowledge, and some of another kind, came afterwards in the course of an eventful period of five
years, during which I have dropped the prejudices of my former humble situation in life, and forgotten the bellows-mender in far
different occupations. But at the epoch of which I speak, the analogy which the casual observation of a star offered to the conclusions
I had already drawn, struck me with the force of positive confirmation, and I then finally made up my mind to the course which I
afterwards pursued.

It was late when I reached home, and I went immediately to bed. My mind, however, was too much occupied to sleep, and I
lay the whole night buried in meditation. Arising early in the morning, and contriving again to escape the vigilance of my creditors, I
repaired eagerly to the bookseller’s stall, and laid out what little ready money I possessed, in the purchase of some volumes of
Mechanics and Practical Astronomy. Having arrived at home safely with these, I devoted every spare moment to their perusal, and soon
made such proficiency in studies of this nature as I thought sufficient for the execution of my plan. In the intervals of this period I
made every endeavor to conciliate the three creditors who had given me so much annoyance. In this I finally succeeded — partly by
selling enough of my household furniture to satisfy a moiety of their claim, and partly by a promise of paying the balance upon
completion of a little project which I told them I had in view, and for assistance in which I solicited their services. By these means
— for they were ignorant men — I found little difficulty in gaining them over to my purpose.

Matters being thus arranged, I contrived, by the aid of my wife, and with the greatest secrecy and caution, to dispose
of what property I had remaining, and to borrow, in small sums, under various pretences, and without paying any attention to my future
means of repayment, no inconsiderable quantity of ready money. With the means thus accruing I proceeded to purchase at intervals,
cambric muslin, very fine, in pieces of twelve yards each — twine — a lot of the varnish of [page 568:] caoutchouc — a large and deep basket of wicker-work, made to order — and
several other articles necessary in the construction and equipment of a balloon of extraordinary dimensions. This I directed my wife to
make up as soon as possible, and gave her all requisite information as to the particular method of proceeding. In the meantime I worked
up the twine into a net-work of sufficient dimensions; rigged it with a hoop and the necessary cords, bought a quadrant, a compass, a
spy-glass, a common barometer with some important modifications, and two astronomical instruments not so generally known. I then took
opportunities of conveying by night, to a retired situation east of Rotterdam, five iron-bound casks, to contain about fifty gallons
each, and one of a larger size — six tinned ware tubes, three inches in diameter, properly shaped, and ten feet in length —
a quantity of a particular metallic substance or semi-metal which I shall not name — and a dozen demi-johns of a very
common acid. The gas to be formed from these latter materials is a gas never yet generated by any other person than myself —
or at least never applied to any similar purpose. The secret I would make no difficulty in disclosing, but that it of right belongs to a
citizen of Nantz in France, by whom it was conditionally communicated to myself. The same individual submitted to me, without being at
all aware of my intentions, a method of constructing balloons from the membrane of a certain animal, through which substance any escape
of gas was nearly an impossibility. I found it however altogether too expensive, and was not sure, upon the whole, whether cambric
muslin with a coating of gum caoutchouc was not equally as good. I mention this circumstance, because I think it probable that hereafter
the individual in question may attempt a balloon ascension with the novel gas and material, I have spoken of, and I do not wish to
deprive him of the honor of a very singular invention.

On the spot which I intended each of the smaller casks to occupy respectively during the inflation of the balloon, I
privately dug a hole two feet deep — the holes forming in this manner a circle of twenty-five feet in diameter. In the centre of
this circle, being the station designed for the large cask, I also dug a hole three feet in depth. In each of the five smaller holes, I
deposited a canister containing fifty pounds, and in the larger one a keg holding one hundred and fifty pounds of cannon powder. These
— the keg and the canisters — I connected in a proper manner with covered trains; and having let into one of the canisters
the end of about four feet of slow-match, I covered up the hole, and placed the cask over it, leaving the other end of the match
protruding about an inch, and barely visible beyond the cask. I then filled up the remaining holes, and placed the barrels over them in
their destined situation.

Besides the articles above enumerated, I conveyed to the depôt, and there secreted, one of M. Grimm’s
improvements upon the apparatus for condensation of the atmospheric air. I found this machine, however, to require considerable
alteration before it could be adapted to the purposes to which I intended making it applicable. But with severe labor, and unremitting
perseverance, I at length met with entire success in all my preparations. My balloon was soon completed. It would contain more than
forty thousand cubic feet of [column 2:] gas; would take me up, I calculated, easily, with all my implements, and, if I managed
rightly, with one hundred and seventy-five pounds of ballast into the bargain. It had received three coats of varnish, and I found the
cambric muslin to answer all the purposes of silk itself — quite as strong and a good deal less expensive.

Every thing being now ready, I exacted from my wife an oath of secrecy in relation to all my actions from the day of my
first visit to the bookseller’s stall, and, promising, on my part, to return as soon as circumstances would admit, I gave her all
the money I had left, and bade her farewell. Indeed I had little fear on her account. She was what people call a notable woman, and
could manage matters in the world without my assistance. I believe, to tell the truth, she always looked upon me as an idle body, a mere
make-weight, good for nothing but building castles in the air, and was rather glad to get rid of me. It was a dark night when I bade her
good bye, and, taking with me, as aids-de-camp, the three creditors who had given me so much trouble, we carried the balloon,
with the car and accoutrements, by a roundabout way, to the station where the other articles were deposited. We there found them all
unmolested, and I proceeded immediately to business.

It was the first of April. The night, as I said before, was dark — there was not a star to be seen, and a
drizzling rain, falling at intervals, rendered us very uncomfortable. But my chief anxiety was concerning my balloon, which in spite of
the varnish with which it was defended, began to grow rather heavy with the moisture: my powder also was liable to damage. I therefore
kept my three duns working with great diligence, pounding down ice around the central cask, and stirring the acid in the others. They
did not cease, however, importuning me with questions as to what I intended to do with all this apparatus, and expressed much
dissatisfaction at the terrible labor I made them undergo. They could not perceive, so they said, what good was likely to result from
their getting wet to the skin merely to take a part in such horrible incantations. I began to get uneasy, and worked away with all my
might — for I verily believe the idiots supposed that I had entered into a compact with the devil, and that, in short, what I was
now doing was nothing better than it should be. I was, therefore, in great fear of their leaving me altogether. I contrived, however, to
pacify them by promises of immediate payment as soon as I could bring the present business to a termination. To these speeches they gave
of course their own interpretation — fancying, no doubt, that at all events I should come into possession of vast quantities of
ready money; and provided I paid them all I owed, and a trifle more, in consideration of their services, I dare say they cared very
little what became of either my soul or my carcass.

In about four hours and a half I found the balloon sufficiently inflated. I attached the car, therefore, and put all my
implements in it — not forgetting the condensing apparatus, a copious supply of water, and a large quantity of provisions, such as
pemmican, in which much nutriment is contained in comparatively little bulk. I also secured in the car a pair of pigeons and a cat. It
was now nearly day-break, and I thought [page 569:] it high time to take my
departure. Dropping a lighted cigar on the ground, as if by accident, I took the opportunity, in stooping to pick it up, of igniting
privately the piece of slow match, whose end, as I said before, protruded a very little beyond the lower rim of one of the smaller
casks. This manœuvre was totally unperceived on the part of the three duns, and, jumping into the car, I immediately cut the single
cord which held me to the earth, and was pleased to find that I shot upwards, rapidly carrying with all ease one hundred and
seventy-five pounds of leaden ballast, and able to have carried up as many more.

Scarcely, however, had I attained the height of fifty yards, when, roaring and rumbling up after me in the most
horrible and tumultuous manner, came so dense a hurricane of fire, and smoke, and sulphur, and legs and arms, and gravel, and burning
wood, and blazing metal, that my very heart sunk within me, and I fell down in the bottom of the car, trembling with unmitigated terror.
Indeed I now perceived that I had entirely overdone the business, and that the main consequences of the shock were yet to be
experienced. Accordingly, in less than a second, I felt all the blood in my body rushing to my temples, and, immediately thereupon, a
concussion, which I shall never forget, burst abruptly through the night, and seemed to rip the very firmament asunder. When I
afterwards had time for reflection, I did not fail to attribute the extreme violence of the explosion, as regarded myself, to its proper
cause — my situation directly above it, and in the exact line of its greatest power. But at the time I thought only of preserving
my life. The balloon at first collapsed — then furiously expanded — then whirled round and round with horrible velocity
— and finally, reeling and staggering like a drunken man, hurled me with great force over the rim of the car, and left me
dangling, at a terrific height, with my head downwards, and my face outwards from the balloon, by a piece of slender cord about three
feet in length, which hung accidentally through a crevice near the bottom of the wicker-work, and in which, as I fell, my left foot
became most providentially entangled. It is impossible — utterly impossible — to form any adequate idea of the horror of my
situation. I gasped convulsively for breath — a shudder resembling a fit of the ague agitated every nerve and muscle in my frame
— I felt my eyes starting from their sockets — a horrible nausea overwhelmed me — and at length I fainted away.

How long I remained in this state, it is impossible to say. It must, however, have been no inconsiderable time, for
when I partially recovered the sense of existence, I found the day breaking, and the balloon at a prodigious height over a wilderness of
ocean, and not a trace of land to be discovered far and wide within the limits of the vast horizon. My sensations, however, upon thus
recovering, were by no means so rife with agony as might have been anticipated. Indeed there was much of incipient madness in the calm
survey which I began to take of my situation. I drew up to my eyes each of my hands, one after the other, and wondered what occurrence
could have given rise to the swelling of the veins, and the horrible blackness of the finger nails. I afterwards carefully examined my
head, shaking it repeatedly, and feeling it with minute attention, until I succeeded in satisfying myself that it was [column 2:]
not — as I had more than half suspected — larger than my balloon. Then, in a knowing manner, I felt in both my breeches
pockets, and missing therefrom a set of tablets and a tooth-pick case, I endeavored to account for their disappearance, and, not being
able to do so, felt inexpressibly chagrined. It now occurred to me that I suffered great uneasiness in the joint of my left ankle, and a
dim consciousness of my situation began to glimmer through my mind. But, strange to say! I was neither astonished nor horror-stricken.
If I felt any emotion at all, it was a kind of chuckling satisfaction at the cleverness I was about to display in extricating myself
from this dilemma; and I never, for a moment, looked upon my ultimate safety as a question susceptible of doubt. For a few minutes I
remained wrapped in the profoundest meditation. I have a distinct recollection of frequently compressing my lips, putting my fore-finger
to the side of my nose, and making use of other gesticulations and grimaces common to men who, at ease in their arm-chairs, meditate
upon matters of intricacy or importance. Having, as I thought, sufficiently collected my ideas, I now, with great caution and
deliberation, put my hands behind my back, and unfastened the large iron buckle which belonged to the waistband of my inexpressibles.
This buckle had three teeth, which, being somewhat rusty, turned with great difficulty upon their axis. I brought them however, after
some trouble, at right angles to the body of the buckle, and was glad to find them remain firm in that position. Holding the instrument
thus obtained within my teeth, I now proceeded to untie the knot of my cravat. I had to rest several times before I could accomplish
this manœuvre — but it was at length accomplished. To one end of the cravat I then made fast the buckle, and the other end I
tied, for greater security, tightly around my wrist. Drawing now, my body upwards, with a prodigious exertion of muscular force, I
succeeded, at the very first trial, in throwing the buckle over the car, and entangling it, as I had anticipated, in the circular rim of
the wicker-work.

My body was now inclined towards the side of the car, at an angle of about forty-five degrees — but it must not
be understood that I was therefore only forty-five degrees below the perpendicular. So far from it, I still lay nearly level with the
plane of the horizon — for the change of situation which I had acquired, had forced the bottom of the car considerably outwards
from my position, which was accordingly one of the most imminent and deadly peril. It should be remembered, however, that when I fell,
in the first instance, from the car, if I had fallen with my face turned towards the balloon, instead of turned outwardly from it as it
actually was — or if, in the second place, the cord by which I was suspended had chanced to hang over the upper edge, instead of
through a crevice near the bottom of the car, — I say it may readily be conceived that, in either of these supposed cases, I
should have been unable to accomplish even as much as I had now accomplished, and the wonderful adventures of Hans Phaall would have
been utterly lost to posterity. I had therefore every reason to be grateful — although, in point of fact, I was still too stupid
to be anything at all, and hung for, I suppose, a quarter of an hour, in that extraordinary manner, without making the slightest farther
exertion whatsoever, and in a singularly tranquil state of idiotic enjoyment. But [page 570:] this feeling did not fail to die rapidly away, and thereunto succeeded horror, and dismay, and a
chilling sense of utter helplessness and ruin. In fact, the blood so long accumulating in the vessels of my head and throat, and which
had hitherto buoyed up my spirits with madness and delirium, had now begun to retire within their proper channels, and the distinctness
which was thus added to my perception of the danger, merely served to deprive me of the self-possession and courage to encounter it. But
this weakness was, luckily for me, of no very long duration. In good time came to my rescue the spirit of despair, and amid curses and
convulsive struggles, I jerked my way bodily upwards, till at length, clutching with a vice-like grip the long-desired rim, I writhed my
person over it, and fell headlong and shuddering within the car.

It was not until sometime afterwards that I recovered myself sufficiently to attend to the ordinary cares of the
balloon. I then, however, examined it with attention, and found it, to my great relief, uninjured. My implements were all safe, and I
had fortunately lost neither ballast nor provisions. Indeed, I had so well secured them in their places, that such an accident was
entirely out of the question. Looking at my watch, I found it six o’clock. I was still rapidly ascending, and my barometer showed
a present altitude of three and three-quarter miles. Immediately beneath me in the ocean, lay a small black object, slightly oblong in
shape, seemingly about the size, and in every way bearing a great resemblance to one of those childish toys called a domino. Bringing my
spy-glass to bear upon it, I plainly discerned it to be a British ninety-four gun ship, close-hauled, and pitching heavily in the sea
with her head to the W. S. W. Besides this ship, I saw nothing but the ocean and the sky, and the sun, which had long arisen.

It is now high time that I should explain to your Excellencies the object of my perilous voyage. Your Excellencies will
bear in mind, that distressed circumstances in Rotterdam, had at length driven me to the resolution of committing suicide. It was not,
however, that to life itself I had any positive disgust — but that I was harassed beyond endurance by the adventitious miseries
attending my situation. In this state of mind — wishing to live, yet wearied with life — the treatise at the stall of the
bookseller opened a resource to my imagination. I then finally made up my mind. I determined to depart, yet live — to leave the
world, yet continue to exist — in short, to drop enigmas, I resolved, let what would ensue, to force a passage, if I could —
to the moon. Now, lest I should be supposed more of a madman than I actually am, I will detail, as well as I am able, the considerations
which led me to believe that an achievement of this nature, although without doubt difficult, and incontestably full of danger, was not
absolutely, to a bold spirit, beyond the confines of the possible.

The moon’s actual distance from the earth was the first thing to be attended to. Now the mean or average interval
between the centres of the two planets is 59.9643 of the earth’s equatorial radii, or only about 237000 miles. I say the
mean or average interval. But it must be borne in mind, that the form of the moon’s orbit being an ellipse of eccentricity
amounting to no less than 0.05484 of the major semi-axis of the ellipse itself, and the earth’s centre being situated in its
focus, [column 2:] if I could, in any manner, contrive to meet the moon, as it were, in its perigee, the above-mentioned distance
would be materially diminished. But to say nothing, at present, of this possibility, it was very certain, that at all events, from the
237000 miles I should have to deduct the radius of the earth, say 4000, and the radius of the moon, say 1080, in all 5080, leaving an
actual interval to be traversed, under average circumstances, of 231920 miles. Now this, I reflected, was no very extraordinary
distance. Travelling on land has been repeatedly accomplished at the rate of thirty miles per hour, and indeed a much greater speed may
be anticipated. But even at this velocity, it would take me no more than 322 days to reach the surface of the moon. There were, however,
many particulars inducing me to believe that my average rate of travelling might possibly very much exceed that of thirty miles per
hour, and, as these considerations did not fail to make a deep impression upon my mind, I will mention them more fully hereafter.

The next point to be regarded, was a matter of far greater importance. From indications afforded by the barometer, we
find that, in ascensions from the surface of the earth, we have, at the height of 1000 feet, left below us, about one-thirtieth of the
entire mass of atmospheric air — that at 10600, we have ascended through nearly one[[-]]third — and that at 18000, which is
not far from the elevation of Cotopaxi, we have surmounted one[[-]]half of the material, or, at all events, one[[-]]half the
ponderable body of air incumbent upon our globe. It is also calculated, that at an altitude not exceeding the hundredth part of
the earth’s diameter — that is, not exceeding eighty miles — the rarefaction would be so excessive, that animal life
could, in no manner, be sustained, and moreover, that the most delicate means we possess of ascertaining the presence of the atmosphere,
would be inadequate to assure us of its existence. But I did not fail to perceive that these latter calculations are founded altogether
on our experimental knowledge of the properties of air, and the mechanical laws regulating its dilation and compression in what may be
called, comparatively speaking, the immediate vicinity of the earth itself; and, at the same time, it is taken for granted, that
animal life is, and must be, essentially incapable of modification at any given unattainable distance from the surface. Now all
such reasoning, and from such data, must of course be simply analogical. The greatest height ever reached by man, was that of 25000
feet, attained in the aeronautic expedition of Messieurs Gay-Lussac and Biot. This is a moderate altitude, even when compared with the
eighty miles in question; and I could not help thinking that the subject admitted room for doubt, and great latitude for speculation.

But, in point of fact, an ascension being made to any stated altitude, the ponderable quantity of air surmounted in any
farther ascension, is by no means in proportion to the additional height ascended, (as may be plainly seen from what has been
stated before) but in a ratio constantly decreasing. It is therefore evident that, ascend as high as we may, we cannot, literally
speaking, arrive at a limit beyond which no atmosphere is to be found. It must exist, I argued, it may exist in a state of
infinite rarefaction.

On the other hand, I was aware that arguments have [page 571:] not
been wanting to prove the existence of a real and definite limit to the atmosphere, beyond which there is absolutely no air whatsoever.
But a circumstance which has been left out of view by those who contend for such a limit, seemed to me, although no positive refutation
of their creed, still a point worthy very serious investigation. On comparing the intervals between the successive arrivals of
Encke’s comet at its perihelion, after giving credit, in the most exact manner, for all the disturbances or perturbations due to
the attractions of the planets, it appears that the periods are gradually diminishing — that is to say — the major axis of
the comet’s ellipse is growing shorter, in a slow but perfectly regular decrease. Now this is precisely what ought to be the case,
if we suppose a resistance experienced by the comet from an extremely rare ethereal medium pervading the regions of its orbit.
For it is evident that such a medium must, in retarding its velocity, increase its centripetal, by weakening its centrifugal force. In
other words, the sun’s attraction would be constantly attaining greater power, and the comet would be drawn nearer at every
revolution. Indeed, there is no other way of accounting for the variation in question. But again. The real diameter of the same
comet’s nebulosity, is observed to contract rapidly as it approaches the sun, and dilate with equal rapidity in its departure
towards its aphelion. Was I not justifiable in supposing, with M. Valz, that this apparent condensation of volume has its origin in the
compression of the same ethereal medium I have spoken of before, and which is only denser in proportion to its solar vicinity? The
lenticular-shaped phenomenon, also, called the zodiacal light, was a matter worthy of attention. This radiance, so apparent in the
tropics, and which cannot be mistaken for any meteoric lustre, extends from the horizon obliquely upwards, and follows generally the
direction of the sun’s equator. It appeared to me evidently, in the nature of a rare atmosphere extending from the sun outwards,
beyond the orbit of Venus at least, and I believed indefinitely farther.* Indeed, this medium I
could not suppose confined to the path of the comet’s ellipse, or the immediate neighborhood of the sun. It was easy, on the
contrary, to imagine it pervading the entire regions of our planetary system, condensed into what we call atmosphere at the planets
themselves, and in some of them modified by considerations, so to speak, purely geological.

Having adopted this view of the subject, I had little farther hesitation. Granting that on my passage I should meet
with atmosphere essentially the same as at the surface of the earth, I conceived that, by means of the very ingenious apparatus
of M. Grimm, I should readily be enabled to condense it in sufficient quantities for the purpose of respiration. This would remove the
chief obstacle in a journey to the moon. I had indeed spent some money and great labor in adapting the apparatus to the purposes
intended, and I confidently looked forward to its successful application, if I could manage to complete the voyage within any reasonable
period. This brings me back to the rate at which it might be possible to travel.

It is true that balloons, in the first stage of their ascensions from the earth, are known to rise with a velocity
comparatively moderate. Now the power of elevation lies altogether in the superior lightness of the [column 2:] gas in the
balloon, compared with the atmospheric air; and, at first sight, it does not appear probable that, as the balloon acquires altitude, and
consequently arrives successively in atmospheric strata of densities rapidly diminishing — I say it does not appear at all
reasonable that, in this its progress upwards, the original velocity should be accelerated. On the other hand, I was not aware that, in
any recorded ascension, a diminution was apparent in the absolute rate of ascent — although such should have been the case, if on
account of nothing else, on account of the escape of gas through balloons ill-constructed, and varnished with no better material than
the ordinary varnish. It seemed, therefore, that the effect of such an escape was only sufficient to counterbalance the effect of some
accelerating power. I now considered, that provided in my passage I found the medium I had imagined, and provided it should prove to be
actually and essentially what we denominate atmospheric air, it could make comparatively little difference at what extreme state
of rarefaction I should discover it — that is to say, in regard to my power of ascending — for the gas in the balloon would
not only be itself subject to a rarefaction partially similar but, being what it was, would still, at all events, continue
specifically lighter than any compound whatever of mere nitrogen and oxygen. In the meantime the force of gravitation would be
constantly diminishing, in proportion to the squares of the distances, and thus, with a velocity prodigiously accelerating, I should at
length arrive in those distant regions where the power of the earth’s attraction would be superseded by the moon’s. In
accordance with these ideas, I did not think it worth while to encumber myself with more provisions than would be sufficient for a
period of forty days.

There was still, however, another difficulty which occasioned me some little disquietude. It has been observed, that in
balloon ascensions to any considerable height, besides the pain attending respiration, great uneasiness is experienced about the head
and body, often accompanied with bleeding at the nose, and other symptoms of an alarming kind, and growing more and more inconvenient in
proportion to the altitude attained. This was a reflection of a nature somewhat startling. Was it not probable that these symptoms would
increase indefinitely, or at least until terminated by death itself? I finally thought not. Their origin was to be looked for in the
progressive removal of the customary atmospheric pressure upon the surface of the body, and consequent distention of the
superficial blood-vessels — not in any positive disorganization of the animal system, as in the case of difficulty in breathing,
where the atmospheric density is chemically insufficient for the purpose of a due renovation of blood in a ventricle of the
heart. Unless for default of this renovation, I could see no reason, therefore, why life could not be sustained even in a vacuum
— for the expansion and compression of chest, commonly called breathing, is action purely muscular, and the cause, not the
effect, of respiration. In a word, I conceived that, as the body should become habituated to the want of atmospheric pressure,
these sensations of pain would gradually diminish, and to endure them while they continued, I relied strongly upon the iron hardihood of
my constitution.

Thus, it may please your Excellencies, I have detailed [page 572:]
some, though by no means all the considerations which led me to form the project of a lunar voyage. I shall now proceed to lay before
you, the result of an attempt so apparently audacious in conception, and, at all events, so utterly unparalleled in the annals of human
kind.

Having attained the altitude before mentioned, that is to say, three miles and three[[-]]quarters, I threw out from the
car a quantity of feathers, and found that I still ascended with sufficient rapidity — there was, therefore, no necessity for
discharging any ballast. I was glad of this, for I wished to retain with me as much weight as I could carry, for reasons which will be
explained in the sequel. I as yet suffered no bodily inconvenience, breathing with great freedom, and feeling no pain whatever in the
head. The cat was lying very demurely upon my coat, which I had taken off, and eyeing the pigeons with an air of nonchalance.
These latter being tied by the leg, to prevent their escape, were busily employed in picking up some grains of rice scattered for them
in the bottom of the car.

At twenty minutes past six o’clock, the barometer showed an elevation of 26,400 feet, or five miles to a
fraction. The prospect seemed unbounded. Indeed, it is very easily calculated by means of spherical geometry, what a great extent of the
earth’s area I beheld. The convex surface of any segment of a sphere is, to the entire surface of the sphere itself, as the versed
sine of the segment is to the diameter of the sphere. Now in my case, the versed sine — that is to say, the thickness of
the segment beneath me, was about equal to my elevation, or the elevation of the point of sight above the surface. “As five miles,
then, to eight thousand,” would express the proportion of the earth’s area seen by me. In other words, I beheld as much as a
sixteen-hundredth part of the whole surface of the globe. The sea appeared unruffled as a mirror, although, by means of the spy-glass, I
could perceive it to be in a state of violent agitation. The ship was no longer visible, having drifted away, apparently, to the
eastward. I now began to experience, at intervals, severe pain in the head, especially about the ears — still, however, breathing
with tolerable freedom. The cat and pigeons seemed to suffer no inconvenience whatsoever.

At twenty minutes before seven, the balloon entered within a long series of dense cloud, which put me to great trouble,
by damaging my condensing apparatus, and wetting me to the skin. This was, to be sure, a singular rencontre, for I had not
believed it possible that a cloud of this nature could be sustained at so great an elevation. I thought it best, however, to throw out
two five[[-]]pound pieces of ballast, reserving still a weight of one hundred and sixty-five pounds. Upon so doing, I soon rose above
the difficulty, and perceived immediately, that I had obtained a great increase in my rate of ascent. In a few seconds after my leaving
the cloud, a flash of vivid lightning shot from one end of it to the other, and caused it to kindle up, throughout its vast extent, like
a mass of ignited and glowing charcoal. This, it must be remembered, was in the broad light of day. No fancy may picture the sublimity
which might have been exhibited by a similar phenomenon taking place amid the darkness of the night. Hell itself might then have found a
fitting image. Even as it was, my hair stood on end, while I gazed afar down within the [column 2:] yawning abysses, letting
imagination descend, as it were, and stalk about in the strange vaulted halls, and ruddy gulfs, and red ghastly chasms of the hideous,
and unfathomable fire. I had indeed made a narrow escape. Had the balloon remained a very short while longer within the cloud —
that is to say — had not the inconvenience of getting wet determined me to discharge the ballast, inevitable ruin would have been
the consequence. Such perils, although little considered, are perhaps the greatest which must be encountered in balloons. I had by this
time, however, attained too great an elevation to be any longer uneasy on this head.

I was now rising rapidly, and by seven o’clock the barometer indicated an altitude of no less than nine miles and
a half. I began to find great difficulty in drawing my breath. My head too was excessively painful; and, having felt for some time a
moisture about my cheeks, I at length discovered it to be blood, which was oozing quite fast from the drums of my ears. My eyes, also,
gave me great uneasiness. Upon passing the hand over them they seemed to have protruded from their sockets in no inconsiderable degree,
and all objects in the car, and even the balloon itself, appeared distorted to my vision. These symptoms were more than I had expected,
and occasioned me some alarm. At this juncture, very imprudently and without consideration, I threw out from the car three
five[[-]]pound pieces of ballast. The accelerated rate of ascent thus obtained carried me too rapidly, and without sufficient gradation,
into a highly rarefied stratum of the atmosphere, and the result had nearly proved fatal to my expedition and to myself. I was suddenly
seized with a spasm which lasted for better than five minutes, and even when this, in a measure, ceased, I could catch my breath only at
long intervals, and in a gasping manner — bleeding all the while copiously at the nose and ears, and even slightly at the eyes.
The pigeons appeared distressed in the extreme, and struggled to escape; while the cat mewed piteously, and, with her tongue hanging out
of her mouth, staggered to and fro in the car as if under the influence of poison. I now too late discovered the great rashness I had
been guilty of in discharging the ballast, and my agitation was excessive. I anticipated nothing less than death, and death in a few
minutes. The physical suffering I underwent contributed also to render me nearly incapable of making any exertion for the preservation
of my life. I had indeed, little power of reflection left, and the violence of the pain in my head seemed to be greatly on the increase.
Thus I found that my senses would shortly give way altogether, and I had already clutched one of the valve ropes with the view of
attempting a descent, when the recollection of the trick I had played the three creditors, and the inevitable consequences to myself,
should I return to Rotterdam, operated to deter me for the moment. I lay down in the bottom of the car, and endeavored to collect my
faculties. In this I so far succeeded as to determine upon the experiment of losing blood. Having no lancet, however, I was constrained
to perform the operation in the best manner I was able, and finally succeeded in opening a vein in my right arm, with the blade of my
penknife. The blood had hardly commenced flowing when I experienced a sensible relief, and by the time I had lost about half a moderate
basin full, most of the worst symptoms [page 573:] had abandoned me entirely. I
nevertheless did not think it expedient to attempt getting on my feet immediately; but, having tied up my arm as well as I could, I lay
still for about a quarter of an hour. At the end of this time I arose, and found myself freer from absolute pain of any kind than
I had been during the last hour and a quarter of my ascension. The difficulty of breathing, however, was diminished in a very slight
degree, and I found that it would soon be positively necessary to make use of my condenser. In the meantime looking towards the cat, who
was again snugly stowed away upon my coat, I discovered, to my infinite surprise, that she had taken the opportunity of my indisposition
to bring into light a litter of three little kittens. This was an addition to the number of passengers on my part altogether unexpected;
but I was pleased at the occurrence. It would afford me a chance of bringing to a kind of test the truth of a surmise, which, more than
anything else, had influenced me in attempting this ascension. I had imagined that the habitual endurance of the atmospheric
pressure at the surface of the earth was the cause, or nearly so, of the pain attending animal existence at a distance above the
surface. Should the kittens be found to suffer uneasiness in an equal degree with their mother, I must consider my theory in
fault, but a failure to do so I should look upon as a strong confirmation of my idea.

By eight o’clock I had actually attained an elevation of seventeen miles above the surface of the earth. Thus it
seemed to me evident that my rate of ascent was not only on the increase, but that the progression would have been apparent in a slight
degree even had I not discharged the ballast which I did. The pains in my head and ears returned, at intervals, with violence, and I
still continued to bleed occasionally at the nose: but, upon the whole, I suffered much less than might have been expected. I breathed,
however, at every moment, with more and more difficulty, and each inhalation was attended with a troublesome spasmodic action of the
chest. I now unpacked the condensing apparatus, and got it ready for immediate use. The view of the earth, at this period of my
ascension, was beautiful indeed. To the westward, the northward, and the southward, as far as I could see, lay a boundless sheet of
apparently unruffled ocean, which every moment gained a deeper and a deeper tint of blue, and began already to assume a slight
appearance of convexity. At a vast distance to the eastward, although perfectly discernible, extended the islands of Great Britain, the
entire Atlantic coasts of France and Spain, with a small portion of the northern part of the continent of Africa. Of individual edifices
not a trace could be discovered, and the proudest cities of mankind had utterly faded away from the face of the earth. From the rock of
Gibraltar, now dwindled into a dim speck, the dark Mediterranean sea, dotted with shining islands as the heaven is dotted with stars,
spread itself out to the eastward as far as my vision extended, until its entire mass of waters seemed at length to tumble headlong over
the abyss of the horizon, and I found myself listening on tiptoe for the echoes of the mighty cataract.

The pigeons about this time seeming to undergo much suffering, I determined upon giving them their liberty. I first
untied one of them — a beautiful gray-mottled pigeon — and placed him upon the rim of the [column 2:] wicker-work. He
appeared extremely uneasy, looking anxiously around him, fluttering his wings, and making a loud cooing noise — but could not be
persuaded to trust himself from off the car. I took him up at last, and threw him to about half a dozen yards from the balloon. He made,
however, no attempt to descend as I had expected, but struggled with great vehemence to get back, uttering at the same time very shrill
and piercing cries. He at length succeeded in regaining his former station on the rim — but had hardly done so when his head
dropped upon his breast, and he fell dead within the car. The other one did not prove so unfortunate. To prevent his following the
example of his companion, and accomplishing a return, I threw him downwards with all my force, and was pleased to find him continue his
descent, with great velocity, making use of his wings with ease, and in a perfectly natural manner. In a very short time he was out of
sight, and I have no doubt he reached home in safety. Puss, who seemed in a great measure recovered from her illness, now made a hearty
meal of the dead bird, and then went to sleep with much apparent satisfaction. Her kittens were quite lively, and so far evinced not the
slightest sign of any uneasiness whatever.

At a quarter past eight, being able no longer to draw breath at all without the most intolerable pain, I proceeded,
forthwith, to adjust around the car the apparatus belonging to the condenser. This apparatus will require some little explanation, and
your Excellencies will please to bear in mind that my object, in the first place, was to surround myself and car entirely with a
barricade against the highly rarefied atmosphere in which I was existing — with the intention of introducing within this
barricade, by means of my condenser, a quantity of this same atmosphere sufficiently condensed for the purposes of respiration. With
this object in view I had prepared a very strong, perfectly air-tight, but flexible gum-elastic bag. In this bag, which was of
sufficient dimensions, the entire car was in a manner placed. That is to say, it (the bag) was drawn over the whole bottom of the car
— up its sides — and so on, along the outside of the ropes, to the upper rim or hoop where the net-work is attached. Having
pulled the bag up in this way, and formed a complete enclosure on all sides, and at bottom, it was now necessary to fasten up its top or
mouth, by passing its material over the hoop of the net-work — in other words between the net-work and the hoop. But if the
net-work was separated from the hoop to admit this passage, what was to sustain the car in the meantime? Now the net-work was not
permanently fastened to the hoop, but attached by a series of running loops or nooses. I therefore undid only a few of these loops at
one time, leaving the car suspended by the remainder. Having thus inserted a portion of the cloth forming the upper part of the bag, I
re-fastened the loops — not to the hoop, for that would have been impossible, since the cloth now intervened, — but to a
series of large buttons, affixed to the cloth itself, about three feet below the mouth of the bag — the intervals between the
buttons having been made to correspond to the intervals between the loops. This done, a few more of the loops were unfastened from the
rim, a farther portion of the cloth introduced, and the disengaged loops then connected with their proper buttons. In this way it was
possible to insert the whole upper part of [page 574:] the bag between the net-work
and the hoop. It is evident that the hoop would now drop down within the car, while the whole weight of the car itself, with all its
contents, would be held up merely by the strength of the buttons. This, at first sight, would seem an inadequate dependence, but it was
by no means so, for the buttons were not only very strong in themselves, but so close together that a very slight portion of the whole
weight was supported by any one of them. Indeed had the car and contents been three times heavier than they were, I should not have been
at all uneasy. I now raised up the hoop again within the covering of gum-elastic, and propped it at nearly its former height by means of
three light poles prepared for the occasion. This was done, of course, to keep the bag distended at the top, and to preserve the lower
part of the net-work in its proper situation. All that now remained was to fasten up the mouth of the enclosure; and this was readily
accomplished by gathering the folds of the material together, and twisting them up very tightly on the inside by means of a kind of
stationary tourniquet.

In the sides of the covering thus adjusted round the car, had been inserted three circular panes of thick but clear
glass, through which I could see without difficulty around me in every horizontal direction. In that portion of the cloth forming the
bottom, was likewise a fourth window, of the same kind, and corresponding with a small aperture in the floor of the car itself. This
enabled me to see perpendicularly down, but having found it impossible to place any similar contrivance overhead, on account of the
peculiar manner of closing up the opening there, and the consequent wrinkles in the cloth, I could expect to see no objects situated
directly in my zenith. This, of course, was a matter of little consequence — for, had I even been able to place a window at top,
the balloon itself would have prevented my making any use of it.

About a foot below one of the side windows was a circular opening eight inches in diameter, and fitted with a brass rim
adapted in its inner edge to the windings of a screw. In this rim was screwed the large tube of the condenser, the body of the machine
being, of course, within the chamber of gum-elastic. Through this tube a quantity of the rare atmosphere circumjacent being drawn by
means of a vacuum created in the body of the machine, was thence discharged in a state of condensation to mingle with the thin air
already in the chamber. This operation, being repeated several times, at length filled the chamber with atmosphere proper for all the
purposes of respiration. But in so confined a space it would in a short time necessarily become foul, and unfit for use from frequent
contact with the lungs. It was then ejected by a small valve at the bottom of the car — the dense air readily sinking into the
thinner atmosphere below. To avoid the inconvenience of making a total vacuum at any moment within the chamber this purification
was never accomplished all at once, but in a gradual manner, — the valve being opened only for a few seconds, then closed again,
until one or two strokes from the pump of the condenser had supplied the place of the atmosphere ejected. For the sake of experiment I
had put the cat and kittens in a small basket, and suspended it outside the car to a button at the bottom, close by the valve, through
which I could feed them at any moment when necessary. I did [column 2:] this at some little risk, and before closing the mouth of
the chamber, by reaching under the car with one of the poles before-mentioned to which a hook had been attached.

By the time I had fully completed these arrangements and filled the chamber as explained, it wanted only ten minutes of
nine o’clock. During the whole period of my being thus employed I endured the most terrible distress from difficulty of
respiration, and bitterly did I repent the negligence, or rather fool-hardiness, of which I had been guilty in putting off to the very
last moment a matter of so much importance. But having at length accomplished it, I soon began to reap the benefit of my invention. Once
again I breathed with perfect freedom and ease — and indeed why should I not? I was also agreeably surprised to find myself, in a
great measure, relieved from the violent pains which had hitherto tormented me. A slight headache, accompanied with a sensation of
fulness or distension [[distention]] about the wrists, the ancles [[ankles]], and the throat, was nearly all of which I had now to
complain. Thus it seemed evident that a greater part of the uneasiness attending the removal of atmospheric pressure had actually
worn off, as I had expected, and that much of the pain endured for the last two hours should have been attributed altogether to
the effects of a deficient respiration.

At twenty minutes before nine o’clock — that is to say — a short time prior to my closing up the
mouth of the chamber, the mercury attained its limit, or ran down, in the barometer, which, as I mentioned before, was one of an
extended construction. It then indicated an altitude on my part of 132000 feet, or five[[-]]and[[-]]twenty miles, and I consequently
surveyed at that time an extent of the earth’s area amounting to no less than the three-hundred-and-twentieth part of its entire
superficies. At nine o’clock I had again entirely lost sight of land to the eastward, but not before I became fully aware that the
balloon was drifting rapidly to the N. N. W. The convexity of the ocean beneath me was very evident indeed — although my view was
often interrupted by the masses of cloud which floated to and fro. I observed now that even the lightest vapors never rose to more than
ten miles above the level of the sea.

At half past nine I tried the experiment of throwing out a handful of feathers through the valve. They did not float as
I had expected — but dropped down perpendicularly, like a bullet, en masse, and with the greatest velocity — being
out of sight in a very few seconds. I did not at first know what to make of this extraordinary phenomenon: not being able to believe
that my rate of ascent had, of a sudden, met with so prodigious an acceleration. But it soon occurred to me that the atmosphere was now
far too rare to sustain even the feathers — that they actually fell, as they appeared to do, with great rapidity — and that
I had been surprised by the united velocities of their descent and my own elevation.

By ten o’clock I found that I had very little to occupy my immediate attention. Affairs went on swimmingly, and I
believed the balloon to be going upwards with a speed increasing momentarily, although I had no longer any means of ascertaining the
progression of the increase. I suffered no pain or uneasiness of any kind, and enjoyed better spirits than I had at any period [page 575:] since my departure from Rotterdam, busying myself now in examining the
state of my various apparatus, and now in regenerating the atmosphere within the chamber. This latter point I determined to attend to at
regular intervals of forty minutes, more on account of the preservation of my health, than from so frequent a renovation being
absolutely necessary. In the meanwhile I could not help making anticipations. Fancy revelled in the wild and dreamy regions of the moon.
Imagination, feeling herself for once unshackled, roamed at will among the ever-changing wonders of a shadowy and unstable land. Now
there were hoary and time-honored forests, and craggy precipices, and waterfalls tumbling with a loud noise into abysses without a
bottom. Then I came suddenly into still noon-day solitudes where no wind of heaven ever intruded, and where vast meadows of poppies, and
slender, lily-looking flowers spread themselves out a weary distance, all silent and motionless forever. Then again I journeyed far down
away into another country where it was all one dim and vague lake, with a boundary-line of clouds. And out of this melancholy water
arose a forest of tall eastern trees, like a wilderness of dreams. And I bore in mind that the shadows of the trees which fell upon the
lake remained not on the surface where they fell — but sunk slowly and steadily down, and commingled with the waves, while from
the trunks of the trees other shadows were continually coming out, and taking the place of their brothers thus entombed. “This
then,” I said thoughtfully, “is the very reason why the waters of this lake grow blacker with age, and more melancholy as
the hours run on.” But fancies such as these were not the sole possessors of my brain. Horrors of a nature most stern and most
appalling would too frequently obtrude themselves upon my mind, and shake the innermost depths of my soul with the bare supposition of
their possibility. Yet I would not suffer my thoughts for any length of time to dwell upon these latter speculations, rightly judging
the real and palpable dangers of the voyage sufficient for my undivided attention.

At five o’clock P. M. being engaged in regenerating the atmosphere within the chamber, I took that opportunity of
observing the cat and kittens through the valve. The cat herself appeared to suffer again very much, and I had no hesitation in
attributing her uneasiness chiefly to a difficulty in breathing — but my experiment with the kittens had resulted very strangely.
I had expected of course to see them betray a sense of pain, although in a less degree than their mother; and this would have been
sufficient to confirm my opinion concerning the habitual endurance of atmospheric pressure. But I was not prepared to find them, upon
close examination, evidently enjoying a high degree of health, breathing with the greatest ease and perfect regularity, and evincing not
the slightest sign of any uneasiness whatever. I could only account for all this by extending my theory, and supposing that the highly
rarefied atmosphere around might perhaps not be, as I had taken for granted, chemically insufficient for the purposes of life, and that
a person born in such a medium might possibly be unaware of any inconvenience attending its inhalation, while, upon removal to the
denser strata near the earth, he might endure tortures of a similar nature to those I had so lately experienced. It [column 2:]
has since been to me a matter of deep regret that an awkward accident at this time occasioned me the loss of my little family of cats,
and deprived me of the insight into this matter which a continued experiment might have afforded. In passing my hand through the valve
with a cup of water for the old puss, the sleeve of my shirt became entangled in the loop which sustained the basket, and thus, in a
moment, loosened it from the button. Had the whole actually vanished into air it could not have shot from my sight in a more abrupt and
instantaneous manner. Positively there could not have intervened the tenth part of a second between the disengagement of the basket and
its absolute and total disappearance with all that it contained. My good wishes followed it to the earth, but, of course, I had no hope
that either cat or kittens would ever live to tell the tale of their misfortune.

At six o’clock I perceived a great portion of the earth’s visible area to the eastward involved in thick
shadow, which continued to advance with great rapidity until, at five minutes before seven, the whole surface in view was enveloped in
the darkness of night. It was not, however, until long after this time that the rays of the setting sun ceased to illumine the balloon;
and this circumstance, although of course fully anticipated, did not fail to give me an infinite deal of pleasure. It was evident that,
in the morning, I should behold the rising luminary many hours at least before the citizens of Rotterdam, in spite of their situation so
much farther to the eastward, and thus, day after day, in proportion to the height ascended, would I enjoy the light of the sun for a
longer and a longer period. I now determined to keep a journal of my passage, reckoning the days from one to twenty-four hours
continuously, without taking into consideration the intervals of darkness.

At ten o’clock, feeling sleepy, I determined to lie down for the rest of the night — but here a difficulty
presented itself, which, obvious as it may appear, had totally escaped my attention up to the very moment of which I am now speaking. If
I went to sleep as I proposed, how could the atmosphere in the chamber be regenerated in the interim? To breathe it for more than an
hour, at the farthest, would be a matter of impossibility; or if even this term could be extended to an hour and a quarter, the most
ruinous consequences might ensue. The consideration of this dilemma gave me no little disquietude, and it will hardly be believed that,
after the dangers I had undergone, I should look upon this business in so serious a light, as to give up all hope of accomplishing my
ultimate design, and finally make up my mind to the necessity of a descent. But this hesitation was only momentary. I reflected that man
is the veriest slave of custom — and that many points in the routine of his existence are deemed essentially important,
which are only so at all by his having rendered them habitual. It was very certain that I could not do without sleep — but
I might easily bring myself to feel no inconvenience from being awakened at regular intervals of an hour during the whole period of my
repose. It would require but five minutes at most, to regenerate the atmosphere in the fullest manner, and the only real difficulty was
to contrive a method of arousing myself at the proper moment for so doing. But this was a question which I am willing to confess,
occasioned me no little trouble in its solution. [page 576:] To be sure, I had
heard of the student who, to prevent his falling asleep over his books, held in one hand a ball of copper, the din of whose descent into
a basin of the same metal on the floor beside his chair, served effectually to startle him up, if, at any moment, he should be overcome
with drowsiness. My own case, however, was very different indeed, and left me no room for any similar idea — for I did not wish to
keep awake, but to be aroused from slumber at regular intervals of time. I at length hit upon the following expedient, which, simple as
it may seem, was hailed by me, at the moment of discovery, as an invention fully equal to that of the telescope, the steam-engine, or
the art of printing itself.

It is necessary to premise that the balloon, at the elevation now attained, continued its course upwards with an even
and undeviating ascent, and the car consequently followed with a steadiness so perfect that it would have been impossible to detect in
it the slightest vacillation whatever. This circumstance favored me greatly in the project I now determined to adopt. My supply of water
had been put on board in kegs containing five gallons each, and ranged very securely around the interior of the car. I unfastened one of
these — took two ropes, and tied them tightly across the rim of the wicker-work from one side to the other, placing them about a
foot apart and parallel, so as to form a kind of shelf, upon which I placed the keg and steadied it in a horizontal position. About
eight inches immediately below these ropes, and four feet from the bottom of the car, I fastened another shelf — but made of thin
plank, being the only similar piece of wood I had. Upon this latter shelf, and exactly beneath one of the rims of the keg a small
earthen pitcher was deposited. I now bored a hole in the end of the keg over the pitcher, and fitted in a plug of soft wood, cut in a
tapering or conical shape. This plug I pushed in or pulled out, as might happen, until, after a few experiments it arrived at that exact
degree of tightness, at which the water oozing from the hole, and falling into the pitcher below, should fill the latter to the brim in
the period of sixty minutes. This, of course, was a matter briefly and easily ascertained by noticing the proportion of the pitcher
filled in any given time. Having arranged all this, the rest of the plan is obvious. My bed was so contrived upon the floor of the car,
as to bring my head, in lying down, immediately below the mouth of the pitcher. It was evident, that, at the expiration of an hour, the
pitcher, getting full, would be forced to run over, and to run over at the mouth, which was somewhat lower than the rim. It was also
evident that the water, thus falling from a height of better than four feet, could not do otherwise than fall upon my face, and that the
sure consequence would be, to waken me up instantaneously, even from the soundest slumber in the world.

It was fully eleven by the time I had completed these arrangements, and I immediately betook myself to bed with full
confidence in the efficiency of my invention. Nor in this matter was I disappointed. Punctually every sixty minutes was I aroused by my
trusty chronometer, when, having emptied the pitcher into the bung-hole of the keg, and performed the duties of the condenser, I retired
again to bed. These regular interruptions to my slumber caused me even less discomfort [column 2:] than I had anticipated, and
when I finally arose for the day it was seven o’clock, and the sun had attained many degrees above the line of my horizon.

April 3d. I found the balloon at an immense height indeed, and the earth’s apparent convexity increased in a
material degree. Below me in the ocean lay a cluster of black specks, which undoubtedly were islands. Far away to the northward I
perceived a thin, white, and exceedingly brilliant line or streak on the edge of the horizon, and I had no hesitation in supposing it to
be the southern disk of the ices of the Polar sea. My curiosity was greatly excited, for I had hopes of passing on much farther to the
north, and might possibly, at some period, find myself placed directly above the Pole itself. I now lamented that my great elevation
would, in this case, prevent my taking as accurate a survey as I could wish. Much however might be ascertained. Nothing else of an
extraordinary nature occurred during the day. My apparatus all continued in good order, and the balloon still ascended without any
perceptible vacillation. The cold was intense, and obliged me to wrap up closely in an overcoat. When darkness came over the earth, I
betook myself to bed, although it was for many hours afterwards broad daylight all around my immediate situation. The water-clock was
punctual in its duty, and I slept until next morning soundly — with the exception of the periodical interruption.

April 4th. Arose in good health and spirits, and was astonished at the singular change which had taken place in the
appearance of the sea. It had lost, in a great measure, the deep tint of blue it had hitherto worn, being now of a grayish white, and of
a lustre dazzling to the eye. The islands were no longer visible — whether they had passed down the horizon to the southeast, or
whether my increasing elevation had left them out of sight, it is impossible to say. I was inclined however, to the latter opinion. The
rim of ice to the northward, was growing more and more apparent. Cold by no means so intense. Nothing of importance occurred, and I
passed the day in reading — having taken care to supply myself with books.

April 5th. Beheld the singular phenomenon of the sun rising while nearly the whole visible surface of the earth continued
to be involved in darkness. In time, however, the light spread itself over all, and I again saw the line of ice to the northward. It was
now very distinct and appeared of a much darker hue than the waters of the ocean. I was evidently aproaching it, and with great
rapidity. Fancied I could again distinguish a strip of land to the eastward — and one also to the westward — but could not
be certain. Weather moderate. Nothing of any consequence happened during the day. Went early to bed.

April 6th. Was surprised at finding the rim of ice at a very moderate distance, and an immense field of the same material
stretching away off to the horizon in the north. It was evident that if the balloon held its present course, it would soon arrive above
the Frozen Ocean, and I had now little doubt of ultimately seeing the Pole. During the whole of the day I continued to near the ice.
Towards night the limits of my horizon very suddenly and materially increased, owing undoubtedly to the earth’s form being that of
an oblate spheroid, and my arriving above the flattened regions [page 577:] in the
vicinity of the Arctic circle. When darkness at length overtook me I went to bed in great anxiety, fearing to pass over the object of so
much curiosity when I should have no opportunity of observing it.

April 7th. Arose early, and, to my great joy, at length beheld what there could be no hesitation in supposing the northern
Pole itself. It was there, beyond a doubt, and immediately beneath my feet — but, alas! I had now ascended to so vast a distance
that nothing could with accuracy be discerned. Indeed, to judge from the progression of the numbers indicating my various altitudes
respectively at different periods, between six A. M. on the second of April, and twenty minutes before nine A. M. of the same day, (at
which time the barometer ran down,) it might be fairly inferred that the balloon had now, at four o’clock in the morning of April
the seventh, reached a height of not less certainly than 7254 miles above the surface of the sea. This elevation may appear
immense, but the estimate upon which it is calculated gave a result in all probability far inferior to the truth. At all events I
undoubtedly beheld the whole of the earth’s major diameter — the entire northern hemisphere lay beneath me like a chart
orthographically projected — and the great circle of the equator itself formed the boundary line of my horizon. Your Excellencies
may [[,]] however, readily imagine that the confined regions hitherto unexplored within the limits of the Arctic circle, although
situated directly beneath me, and therefore seen without any appearance of being foreshortened, were still, in themselves, comparatively
too diminutive, and at too great a distance from the point of sight to admit of any very accurate examination. Nevertheless what could
be seen was of a nature singular and exciting. Northwardly from that huge rim before mentioned, and which, with slight qualification may
be called the limit of human discovery in these regions, one unbroken, or nearly unbroken sheet of ice continues to extend. In the first
few degrees of this its progress, its surface is very sensibly flattened — farther on depressed into a plane — and finally,
becoming not a little concave, it terminates at the Pole itself in a circular centre, sharply defined, whose apparent diameter
subtended at the balloon an angle of about sixty-five seconds, and whose dusky hue, varying in intensity, was, at all times darker than
any other spot upon the visible hemisphere, and occasionally deepened into the most absolute and impenetrable blackness. Farther than
this little could be ascertained. By twelve o’clock the circular centre had materially decreased in circumference, and by seven P.
M. I lost sight of it entirely — the balloon passing over the western limb of the ice, and floating away rapidly in the direction
of the equator.

April 8th. Found a sensible diminution in the earth’s apparent diameter, besides a material alteration in its
general color and appearance. The whole visible area partook in different degrees of a tint of pale yellow, and in some portions had
acquired a brilliancy even painful to the eye. My view downwards was also considerably impeded by the dense atmosphere in the vicinity
of the surface being loaded with clouds between whose masses I could only now and then obtain a glimpse of the earth itself. This
difficulty of direct vision had troubled me more or less for the last forty-eight hours — but my present enormous elevation
[column 2:] brought closer together, as it were, the floating bodies of vapor, and the inconvenience became, of course, more
and more palpable in proportion to my ascent. Nevertheless I could easily perceive that the balloon now hovered above the range of great
lakes in the continent of North America, and was holding a course due south which would soon bring me to the tropics. This circumstance
did not fail to give me the most heartfelt satisfaction, and I hailed it as a happy omen of ultimate success. Indeed the direction I had
hitherto taken had filled me with uneasiness, for it was evident that, had I continued it much longer, there would have been no
possibility of my arriving at the moon at all, whose orbit is inclined to the ecliptic at only the small angle of 5°, 8’,
48”.

April 9th. To-day, the earth’s diameter was greatly diminished, and the color of the surface assumed hourly a deeper
tint of yellow. The balloon kept steadily on her course to the southward, and arrived at nine P. M. over the northern edge of the
Mexican gulf [[Gulf]].

April 10th. I was suddenly aroused from slumber, about five o’clock this morning, by a loud, crackling, and terrific
sound, for which I could in no manner account. It was of very brief duration, but, while it lasted, resembled nothing in the world of
which I had any previous experience. It is needless to say, that I became excessively alarmed, having, in the first instance, attributed
the noise to the bursting of the balloon. I examined all my apparatus, however, with great attention, and could discover nothing out of
order. Spent a great part of the day in meditating upon an occurrence so extraordinary, but could find no means whatever of accounting
for it. Went to bed dissatisfied, and in a state of anxiety and agitation.

April 11th. Found a startling diminution in the apparent diameter of the earth, and a considerable increase, now
observable for the first time, in that of the moon itself, which wanted only a few days of being full. It now required long and
excessive labor to condense within the chamber sufficient atmospheric air for the sustenance of life.

April 12th. A singular alteration took place in regard to the direction of the balloon, and although fully anticipated,
afforded me the most unequivocal delight. Having reached, in its former course, about the twentieth parallel of southern latitude, it
turned off suddenly at an acute angle to the eastward, and thus proceeded throughout the day, keeping nearly, if not altogether, in
the exact plane of the lunar ellipse. What was worthy of remark, a very perceptible vacillation in the car was a consequence of
this change of route — a vacillation which prevailed, in a more or less degree, for a period of many hours.

April 13th. Was again very much alarmed by a repetition of the loud crackling noise which terrified me on the tenth.
Thought long upon the subject, but was unable to form any satisfactory conclusion. Great decrease in the earth’s apparent diameter
which now subtended from the balloon an angle of very little more than twenty-five degrees. The moon could not be seen at all, being
nearly in my zenith. I still continued in the plane of the ellipse, but made little progress to the eastward.

April 14th. Extremely rapid decrease in the diameter of the earth. To-day I became strongly impressed [page 578:] with the idea, that the balloon was now actually running up the line of apsides to
the point of perigee — in other words, holding the direct course which would bring it immediately to the moon in that part of its
orbit, the nearest to the earth. The moon itself was directly over-head, and consequently hidden from my view. Great and long-continued
labor necessary for the condensation of the atmosphere.

April 15th. Not even the outlines of continents and seas could now be traced upon the earth with anything approaching to
distinctness. About twelve o’clock I became aware, for the third time, of that unearthly and appalling sound which had so
astonished me before. It now, however, continued for some moments, and gathered horrible intensity as it continued. At length, while
stupified and terror-stricken I stood in expectation of, I know not what hideous destruction, the car vibrated with excessive violence,
and a gigantic and flaming mass of some material which I could not distinguish, came with the voice of a thousand thunders, roaring and
booming by the balloon. When my fears and astonishment had in some degree subsided, I had little difficulty in supposing it to be some
mighty volcanic fragment ejected from that world to which I was so rapidly approaching, and, in all probability, one of that singular
class of substances occasionally picked up on the earth, and termed meteoric stones for want of a better appellation.

April 16th. To-day, looking upwards as well I could, through each of the side windows alternately, I beheld, to my great
delight, a very small portion of the moon’s disk protruding, as it were, on all sides beyond the huge circumference of the
balloon. My agitation was extreme — for I had now little doubt of soon reaching the end of my perilous voyage. Indeed the labor
now required by the condenser had increased to a most oppressive degree, and allowed me scarcely any respite from exertion. Sleep was a
matter nearly out of the question. I became quite ill, and my frame trembled with exhaustion. It was impossible that human nature could
endure this state of intense suffering much longer. During the now brief interval of darkness a meteoric stone again passed in my
vicinity, and the frequency of these phenomena began to occasion me much anxiety and apprehension.

April 17th. This morning proved an epoch in my voyage. It will be remembered that, on the thirteenth, the earth subtended
an angular breadth of twenty-five degrees. On the fourteenth, this had greatly diminished — on the fifteenth, a still more rapid
decrease was observable — and on retiring for the night of the sixteenth I had noticed an angle of no more than about seven
degrees and fifteen minutes. What, therefore, must have been my amazement on awakening from a brief and disturbed slumber on the morning
of this day, the seventeenth, at finding the surface beneath me so suddenly and wonderfully augmented in volume as to subtend no
less than thirty-nine degrees in apparent angular diameter! I was thunderstruck. No words — no earthly expression can give any
adequate idea of the extreme — the absolute horror and astonishment with which I was seized, possessed, and altogether
overwhelmed. My knees tottered beneath me — my teeth chattered — my [column 2:] hair started up on end. “The
balloon then had actually burst” — these were the first tumultuous ideas which hurried through my mind — “the
balloon had positively burst. I was falling — falling — falling — with the most intense, the most impetuous, the most
unparalleled velocity. To judge from the immense distance already so quickly passed over, it could not be more than ten minutes, at the
farthest, before I should meet the surface of the earth, and be hurled into annihilation.” But at length reflection came to my
relief. I paused — I considered — and I began to doubt. The matter was impossible. I could not in any reason have so rapidly
come down. Besides, although I was evidently approaching the surface below me, it was with a speed by no means commensurate with the
velocity I had at first so horribly conceived. This consideration served to calm the perturbation of my mind, and I finally succeeded in
regarding the phenomenon in its proper point of view. In fact amazement must have fairly deprived me of my senses when I could not see
the vast difference, in appearance, between the surface below me, and the surface of my mother earth. The latter was indeed over my
head, and completely hidden by the balloon, while the moon — the moon itself in all its glory — lay beneath me, and at my
feet.

The stupor and surprise produced in my mind by this extraordinary change in the posture of affairs was perhaps, after
all, that part of the adventure least susceptible of explanation. For the bouleversement in itself was not only natural and
inevitable, but had been long actually anticipated as a circumstance to be expected whenever I should arrive at that exact point of my
voyage where the attraction of the planet should be superseded by the attraction of the satellite — or, more precisely, where the
gravitation of the balloon towards the earth should be less powerful than its gravitation towards the moon. To be sure I arose from a
sound slumber, with all my senses in confusion, to the contemplation of a very startling phenomenon, and one which, although expected,
was not expected at the moment. The revolution itself must, of course, have taken place in an easy and gradual manner, and it is by no
means clear that, had I even been awake at the time of the occurrence, I should have been made aware of it by any internal
evidence of an inversion — that is to say by any inconvenience or disarrangement either about my person or about my apparatus.

It is almost needless to say that upon coming to a due sense of my situation, and emerging from the terror which had
absorbed every faculty of my soul, my attention was, in the first place, wholly directed to the contemplation of the general physical
appearance of the moon. It lay beneath me like a chart, and although I judged it to be still at no inconsiderable distance, the
indentures of its surface were defined to my vision with a most striking and altogether unaccountable distinctness. The entire absence
of ocean or sea, and indeed of any lake or river, or body of water whatsoever, struck me, at the first glance, as the most extraordinary
feature in its geological condition. Yet, strange to say! I beheld vast level regions of a character decidedly alluvial — although
by far the greater portion of the hemisphere in sight was covered with innumerable volcanic [page 579:] mountains, conical in shape, and having more the appearance of artificial than of natural
protuberances. The highest among them does not exceed three and three[[-]]quarter miles in perpendicular elevation — but a map of
the volcanic districts of the Campi Phlegræi would afford to your Excellencies a better idea of their general surface than any
unworthy description I might think proper to attempt. The greater part of them were in a state of evident eruption, and gave me
fearfully to understand their fury and their power by the repeated thunders of the miscalled meteoric stones which now rushed upwards by
the balloon with a frequency more and more appalling.

April 18th. To-day I found an enormous increase in the moon’s apparent bulk, and the evidently accelerated velocity
of my descent began to fill me with alarm. It will be remembered that, in the earliest stage of my speculations upon the possibility of
a passage to the moon, the existence in its vicinity of an atmosphere dense in proportion to the bulk of the planet had entered largely
into my calculations — this too in spite of many theories to the contrary, and, it may be added, in spite of a general disbelief
in the existence of any lunar atmosphere at all. Upon the resistance, or more properly, upon the support of this atmosphere, existing in
the state of density imagined, I had, of course, entirely depended for the safety of my ultimate descent. Should I then, after all,
prove to have been mistaken, I had in consequence nothing better to expect as a finale to my adventure than being dashed into
atoms against the rugged surface of the satellite. And indeed I had now every reason to be terrified. My distance from the moon was
comparatively trifling, while the labor required by the condenser was diminished not at all, and I could discover no indication whatever
of a decreasing rarity in the air.

April 19th. This morning, to my great joy, about nine o’clock, the surface of the moon being frightfully near, and
my apprehensions excited to the utmost, the pump of my condenser at length gave evident tokens of an alteration in the atmosphere. By
ten I had reason to believe its density considerably increased. By eleven very little labor was necessary at the apparatus — and
at twelve o’clock, with some hesitation, I ventured to unscrew the tourniquet, when, finding no inconvenience from having done so,
I finally threw open the gum-elastic chamber, and unrigged it from around the car. As might have been expected, spasms and violent
headache were the immediate consequence of an experiment so precipitate and full of danger. But these and other difficulties attending
respiration, as they were by no means so great as to put me in peril of my life, I determined to endure as I best could, in
consideration of my leaving them behind me momentarily in my approach to the denser strata near the moon. This approach, however, was
still impetuous in the extreme, and it soon became alarmingly certain that, although I had probably not been deceived in the expectation
of an atmosphere dense in proportion to the mass of the satellite, still I had been wrong in supposing this density, even at the
surface, at all adequate to the support of the great weight contained in the car of my balloon. Yet this should have been the
case, and in an equal degree as at the surface of the earth, the actual gravity of bodies at either planet being in the exact ratio of
their atmospheric condensation. That it was not the case however my [column 2:] precipitous downfall gave testimony enough
— why it was not so, can only be explained by a reference to those possible geological disturbances to which I have formerly
alluded. At all events I was now close upon the planet, and coming down with the most terrible impetuosity. I lost not a moment
accordingly in throwing overboard first my ballast, then my water-kegs, then my condensing apparatus and gum-elastic chamber, and
finally every individual article within the car. But it was all to no purpose. I still fell with horrible rapidity, and was now not more
than half a mile at farthest from the surface. As a last resource, therefore, having got rid of my coat, hat, and boots, I cut loose
from the balloon the car itself, which was of no inconsiderable weight, and thus, clinging with both hands to the hoop of the
net-work, I had barely time to observe that the whole country as far as the eye could reach was thickly interspersed with diminutive
habitations, ere I tumbled headlong into the very heart of a fantastical-looking city, and into the middle of a vast crowd of ugly
little people, who none of them uttered a single syllable, or gave themselves the least trouble to render me assistance, but stood, like
a parcel of idiots, grinning in a ludicrous manner, and eyeing me and my balloon askant with their arms set a-kimbo. I turned from them
in contempt, and gazing upwards at the earth so lately left, and left perhaps forever, beheld it like a huge, dull, copper shield, about
two degrees in diameter, fixed immoveably in the heavens overhead, and tipped on one of its edges with a crescent border of the most
brilliant gold. No traces of land or water could be discovered, and the whole was clouded with variable spots, and belted with tropical
and equatorial zones.

Thus, may it please your Excellencies, after a series of great anxieties, unheard of dangers, and unparalleled escapes,
I had, at length, on the nineteenth day of my departure from Rotterdam, arrived in safety at the conclusion of a voyage undoubtedly the
most extraordinary, and the most momentous ever accomplished, undertaken, or conceived by any denizen of earth. But my adventures yet
remain to be related. And indeed your Excellencies may well imagine that after a residence of five years upon a planet not only deeply
interesting in its own peculiar character, but rendered doubly so by its intimate connection, in capacity of satellite, with the world
inhabited by man, I may have intelligence for the private ear of the States’ College of Astronomers of far more importance than
the details, however wonderful, of the mere voyage which so happily concluded. This is, in fact, the case. I have much —
very much which it would give me the greatest pleasure to communicate. I have much to say of the climate of the planet — of its
wonderful alternations of heat and cold — of unmitigated and burning sunshine for one fortnight, and more than polar severityof
winter for the next — of a constant transfer of moisture, by distillation in vacuo, from the point beneath the sun to the
point the farthest from it — of a variable zone of running water — of the people themselves — of their manners,
customs, and political institutions — of their peculiar physical construction — of their ugliness — of their want of
ears, those useless appendages in an atmosphere so peculiarly modified — of their consequent ignorance of the use and properties
of speech — of their substitute for speech [page 580:] in a singular method
of inter-communication — of the incomprehensible connection between each particular individual in the moon, with some particular
individual on the earth — a connection analogous with, and depending upon that of the orbs of the planet and the satellite, and by
means of which the lives and destinies of the inhabitants of the one are interwoven with the lives and destinies of the inhabitants of
the other — and above all, if it so please your Excellencies, above all of these dark and hideous mysteries which lie in the outer
regions of the moon — regions which, owing to the almost miraculous accordance of the satellite’s rotation on its own axis
with its sidereal revolution about the earth, have never yet been turned, and, by God’s mercy, never shall be turned, to the
scrutiny of the telescopes of man. All this, and more — much more — would I most willingly detail. But to be brief, I must
have my reward. I am pining for a return to my family and to my home: and as the price of any farther communications on my part —
in consideration of the light which I have it in my power to throw upon many very important branches of physical and metaphysical
science — I must solicit, through the influence of your honorable body, a pardon for the crime of which I have been guilty in the
death of the creditors upon my departure from Rotterdam. This, then, is the object of the present paper. Its bearer, an inhabitant of
the moon, whom I have prevailed upon, and properly instructed, to be my messenger to the earth, will await your Excellencies’
pleasure, and return to me with the pardon in question, if it can, in any manner, be obtained.

I have the honor to be, &c. your Excellencies very humble servant, HANS PHAALL.

Upon finishing the perusal of this very extraordinary document, Professor Rub-a-dub, it is said, dropped his pipe upon
the ground in the extremity of his surprise, and Mynheer Superbus Von Underduk, having taken off his spectacles, wiped them, and
deposited them in his pocket, so far forgot both himself and his dignity, as to turn round three times upon his heel in the quintessence
of astonishment and admiration. There was no doubt about the matter — the pardon should be obtained. So at least swore with a
round oath, Professor Rub-a-dub, and so finally thought the illustrious Von Underduk, as he took the arm of his brother in science, and
without saying a word, began to make the best of his way home to deliberate upon the measures to be adopted. Having reached the door,
however, of the burgomaster’s dwelling, the Professor ventured to suggest, that as the messenger had thought proper to disappear
— no doubt frightened to death by the savage appearance of the burghers of Rotterdam — the pardon would be of little use, as
no one but a man of the moon would undertake a voyage to so horrible a distance. To the truth of this observation the burgomaster
assented, and the matter was therefore at an end. Not so, however, rumors and speculations. The letter, having been published, gave rise
to a variety of gossip and opinion. Some of the overwise even made themselves ridiculous, by decrying the whole business as nothing
better than a hoax. But hoax, with these sort of people, is, I believe, a general term for all matters above their comprehension. For my
part I cannot conceive upon what data they have founded such an accusation. Let us see what they say: [column 2:]

Imprimis. That certain wags in Rotterdam have certain especial antipathies to certain burgomasters and astronomers.

Don’t understand at all.

Secondly. That an odd little dwarf and bottle conjurer, both of whose ears, for some misdemeanor, have been cut off
close to his head, has been missing for several days from the neighboring city of Bruges.

Well — what of that?

Thirdly. That the newspapers which were stuck all over the little balloon were newspapers of Holland, and therefore
could not have been made in the moon. They were dirty papers — very dirty — and Gluck, the printer, would take his bible
oath to their having been printed in Rotterdam.

He was mistaken — undoubtedly — mistaken.

Fourthly. That Hans Phaall himself, the drunken villain, and the three very idle gentlemen styled his creditors, were
all seen, no longer than two or three days ago, in a tippling house in the suburbs, having just returned, with money in their pockets,
from a trip beyond the sea.

Don’t believe it — don’t believe a word of it.

Lastly. That it is an opinion very generally received, or which ought to be generally received, that the College of
Astronomers in the city of Rotterdam — as well as all other Colleges in all other parts of the world — not to mention
Colleges and Astronomers in general — are, to say the least of the matter, not a whit better, nor greater, nor wiser than they
ought to be.

[[Footnotes]]

[The following footnote is added to appear at the bottom of page 571, column 1:]

The changes made in this unique copy of the Southern Literary Messenger were verifed by J. A. Savoye and the current owner,
Lawrence Fox, on August 21, 2011. A number of changes not recorded by Pollin are included in the present text. Poe’s changes
are made in light pencil, which has faded over time. As a consequence, some of the changes are difficult to read, but generally
appear to agree with what was printed in Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, which has been helpful in clarifying some of
the readings.

In the title, Poe has marked out “A Tale,” but presumably intended everything after “HANS PHAALL” to be
removed. His byline was, of course, unnecessary since the intended printing for Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque would be
in a book, bearing his name as the author for the entire series of works it contained.